{"id":1318,"date":"2013-05-18T16:00:55","date_gmt":"2013-05-18T20:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heather-maclean.com\/?p=1318"},"modified":"2016-03-21T15:43:59","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T15:43:59","slug":"the-definitive-guide-to-buying-olive-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/how-to\/the-definitive-guide-to-buying-olive-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"The Definitive Guide to Buying Olive Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olive oil is not only delicious, it also helps your heart, fights cancer, controls your blood sugar, lowers blood pressure, prevents bone loss, and (best of all?) stops that little pooch of belly fat from forming.
\n\"faveoliveoil\"<\/a>
\nEven though the Greek poet Homer called it \u201cliquid gold,\u201d only half of the households in America have a bottle of olive oil in their kitchen. Why? Perhaps because Americans didn’t grow up eating it, and aren’t sure how to buy it.<\/p>\n

Vegetable or canola oil is a no-brainer because we\u2019ve seen it on TV since we were little. It\u2019s the stuff you pour in a pan, or use to bake things. It\u2019s the big, sticky yellow bottle at the back of everyone\u2019s kitchen cabinet.<\/p>\n

Olive oil can be used just the same way. Any time you read about, think about, or are told to use teaspoons or tablespoons of \u201cvegetable oil,\u201d substitute olive oil instead. (If you read about, think about, or are told to use cups and cups of oil, stop right there. Even olive oil will not save you.)<\/p>\n

Olive oil is slightly more expensive than vegetable or canola oil, but you should only be using it a tablespoon at a time, so it will last longer than you think. Just keep the bottle out of direct sunlight; stored in a dark pantry is best.<\/p>\n

Comparing Cooking Oils: Chemical Cocktail vs. Fruit Juice<\/strong>
\nEven though they\u2019re not all made from vegetables, in cooking, \u201cvegetable oil\u201d generically refers to any oil you can eat or safely cook with that was somehow derived from a plant. So while the label might say \u201csunflower\u201d or \u201ccanola\u201d or \u201ccorn,\u201d the recipe will just say \u201cvegetable oil\u201d or \u201ccooking oil.\u201d All of these oils are processed to the heavens, and don\u2019t have any noticeable taste, so you can interchange them in any recipe.<\/p>\n

Olive oil is different, though. First of all, olives are a fruit. They are pressed to squeeze out their juices, so olive oil is a fruit juice, or fruit oil, really. If you buy the right stuff, olive oil is nothing but pure juice from the olive. The lack of processing is one of the reasons olive oil is so healthy: it gets to keep all of its healthy components, like antioxidants.<\/p>\n

The other oils, though, aren\u2019t as lucky. Because they don\u2019t come from a juicy fruit in the first place, getting oil out of them isn\u2019t as easy as simple squeezing. Vegetable oils go through a bunch of processes that include adding chemicals to remove the color, the odor, and the taste. Lots of crazy chemicals. And in that process, the original plant is stripped of almost all of its nutritional goodness.<\/p>\n

Labeling Lies<\/strong>
\nNo matter what health benefits they are claiming on their packaging, no other oil is as pure or as healthy as olive oil. See an oil that\u2019s labeled \u201ccholesterol free\u201d? That\u2019s nice, but all vegetable oils are cholesterol free. See another oil labeled \u201clight\u201d? They must be referring to the color, because every single oil has the same 120 calories and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon, even olive oil. The big difference is olive oil is pure fruit full of nutrition and healthy fat your body needs, and vegetable oils are less healthy, chemically treated nonsense.<\/p>\n

Olive Oil Making 101<\/strong>
\nOlive oil was originally made by squeezing olives with big rocks, and then later by pressing them between screened platforms. The olives were squeezed just one time, no heat or chemicals were used, and the oil that came out was the purest and the best. This is called the \u201cfirst press.\u201d Only oil that is removed from the first pressing can be called \u201cextra virgin\u201d or \u201cvirgin.\u201d This is the only oil we want. If it\u2019s not a virgin, keep walking. (Good lesson for life, no?)<\/p>\n

Today many companies use fancy centrifugal machines instead of presses to get this first juicing out, but everyone still likes to advertise \u201cfirst pressing\u201d or \u201ccold first press.\u201d Ignore these words. We are still only looking for “virgin.”<\/p>\n

Olive Colored<\/strong>
\nThe actual color of olive oil can range from gold to green, depending on the olives. Look for something with a rich color, as a really light hue probably means other stuff was added to it.<\/p>\n

Olive oil is usually clear, but it will cloud up when it gets cold (that\u2019s why you shouldn\u2019t store it in the refrigerator). If your house gets really cold and you notice your olive oil bottle is cloudy, don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s not a sign that it\u2019s rotten or anything. Just leave it in a warmer place for a few hours, and it should clear back up again.<\/p>\n

OO, VOO, EVOO, WTF?<\/strong>
\nWhen the very best olives in the crop are picked and pressed within 24 hours, you get the very best oil. This we call extra virgin olive oil (or if you\u2019re a Rachael Ray fan, EVOO). Again, don\u2019t even bother with anything else.<\/p>\n

Ideally, the story would end here, but not all olives are perfect, and growers don\u2019t want to waste the bumped, bruised, or not-quite-ripe ones. So companies use the less perfect olives to make a product of lesser quality: virgin olive oil. Same process (although usually not done within 24 hours of picking), same chemical-free juice of the olive, just with subpar olives. The price difference between extra virgin and virgin isn\u2019t great enough that I would ever buy oil from possibly rotten or picked-up-off-the-ground fruit.<\/p>\n

The pressing process leaves behind lots of olive pulp and stuff, so in an effort to make something oily out of even that, companies will add chemicals to the olive leftovers and get themselves some more oil. This we call just plain or regular olive oil. We don\u2019t like this kind of olive oil because it\u2019s not fresh, it doesn\u2019t use the best olives, and it includes all kinds of chemicals, which really defeats the whole healthy purpose.
\nDon\u2019t be fooled by any other labeling: pure, refined, 100 percent this or that. The most important words on the bottle are extra virgin or just virgin. If you don\u2019t see those, move on.<\/p>\n

Buying Olive Oil: The Skinny<\/strong>
\nIn a hurry and just want the skinny? Buy EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil. Period. Got more time to look? For your best bottle: get 100 percent Italian olive oil made from 100 percent Italian olives, harvested and pressed at the same place. Look for a nice Italian company (not an American company with a fake Italian name for branding), and make sure it\u2019s as far from the expiration date as possible. If you want to save money, for your cooking bottle, get extra virgin olive oil as freshly made as possible, with at least some of the olives from Italy.<\/p>\n

The Million Other Confusing Label Claims<\/strong>
\nMost of the extra words that can make shopping for olive oil confusing are just marketing gimmicks. But be careful, because some of them are purposely trying to trick you into picking the wrong oil. Here\u2019s what each of those words and phrases mean, in plain old English:<\/p>\n

PURE \u2022 A pretty useless word that can mean anything. It\u2019s supposed to tell you that there are only olives in the bottle, but since they don\u2019t have to talk about the chemicals they used to get there, or what shape the olives were in when they used them, \u201cpure\u201d can be ignored.<\/p>\n

NATURAL \u2022 Of course it\u2019s \u201cnatural.\u201d What\u2019s the alternative to using a \u201cnatural\u201d olive? Using a fake, plastic one? Ignore this word. It\u2019s completely meaningless.<\/p>\n

REFINED \u2022 While refined sounds like it has fancy manners or something, it really means the olive oil has to be produced using chemicals, filters, and heat that could end up putting toxins in your body instead of antioxidants. Refined oil usually has a funky taste and smell, too. No good for cooking. No good for anyone.<\/p>\n

BLENDED OLIVE OIL \u2022 We only want extra virgin olive oil, not our pre- cious oil blended with who knows what from who knows where. Blended is good for drinks, bad for olive oil.<\/p>\n

OLIVE POMACE OIL \u2022 Pomace is the mushed-up olive skin and pits left over after pressing. Using the pomace (and lots of chemicals) to create some olive oil is like using the hair caught in your vacuum cleaner to make your own extensions. Nasty. Avoid, avoid, avoid.<\/p>\n

LIGHT OLIVE OIL \u2022 The same guys who\u2019ll try to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge are trying to trick hyper-dieting Americans into buying crappy oil. Since all olive oils have exactly the same amount of calories and fat per serving, there is no such thing as a \u201clight\u201d olive oil in terms of calories or fat. Somebody at some crappy company realized that if they took inferior olive oil (which is lighter in color because it\u2019s so crappy) and called it \u201clight,\u201d refer- ring to its color, they might trick people into buying this kind of oil. You\u2019re far too smart for this con.<\/p>\n

F I R S T P R E S S \u2022 Completely unnecessary. If it\u2019s extra virgin, it\u2019s first press (and most of them aren\u2019t even really \u201cpressed\u201d anymore). You can ignore this.<\/p>\n

COLD PRESSED \u2022 Same as with \u201cfirst press.\u201d Ignore.<\/p>\n

ULTRA, PREMIUM, OR ULTRA PREMIUM \u2022 These are just show-off words. They don\u2019t really mean anything except that the company thinks its olive oil is great. It might be, so you don\u2019t have to avoid these words. Just don\u2019t let them sway your shopping decision.<\/p>\n

TRADITIONAL \u2022 I think this label is hilarious because it\u2019s not a regulated word; anyone can stick it on anything. I saw it on a bottle that also had \u201ccomposed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils\u201d on it. What\u2019s traditional about mixing junk in with the good stuff to stretch your profits? Niente!<\/p>\n

ESTATE GROWN \u2022 What estate, where? And are the olives all from the same estate or from a bunch of different estates in skievy places? Meaningless.<\/p>\n

UNFILTERED \u2022 You can find this on extra virgin olive oil, and basically it just means they didn\u2019t strain out every single little piece of olive skin or pulp from the oil. Some people say this makes the tastiest oil. Some people think it makes the oil expire faster. If you don\u2019t mind little specks floating in your oil, go for it. Me, you know I\u2019m all about cleansiness.<\/p>\n

HANDPICKED \u2022 This is supposed to tell you that they treat their olives with TLC, which is fine, but there are also nets and rakes and some machines that are used that do just as good a job getting the best olives off the tree. Handpicked is sweet, but it might mean you\u2019re paying more for the oil because their labor costs are higher.<\/p>\n

MADE IN ITALY, IMPORTED FROM ITALY, 100 PERCENT ITALIAN \u2022 These all sound good, but you have to look at the other writing on the bottle to figure out how good it really is. Ideally, you want an extra virgin olive oil that is made in Italy with only Italian olives from the same property. Most bottles I\u2019ve seen with \u201cmade in Italy\u201d on them go on to tell you that it was also made with olives from Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Italy. Why is this bad? First of all, I\u2019m biased, but Italian olives are the best. And since olives are tastiest when they are handled carefully and pressed within twenty-four hours, the thought of a bunch of ragtag olives being shipped in from different countries on boats and trucks and stuff doesn\u2019t really appeal to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\"SkinnyItal-cover\"<\/td>\n– From Skinny Italian<\/a><\/em>
\nby Teresa Giudice with Heather Maclean<\/td>\n		<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3228,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions\/3228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}